Cattle Market Pulse

Winter Livestock Auction Market Report

Riverton, Wyoming · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, September 17, 2024

853 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Winter Livestock Auction report →

light 4-weight M&L 1 steers $357.28/cwt ≈ $1,536/hd at 430 lb · 103 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $286.10/cwt +34.10 vs last sale · ≈ $1,436/hd at 502 lb · 82 head
light 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $313.00/cwt +74.00 vs last sale · ≈ $1,308/hd at 418 lb · 61 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 853 619 683
Feeder cattle 625 556 435
Slaughter cattle 176 58 201
Replacement cattle 52 5 47

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday sale (September 10) slaughter cows and bulls mostly steady, with few more feeder cows returning to feed lower undertones noted. Yearlings unevenly steady, several packages feeder calves steady with higher overtones noted on light comparisons from last sale. Demand moderate to good.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305–341 326 35 372.50–393.00 $380.14 $1,239 —
405–433 430 103 350.00–359.00 $357.28 $1,536 —
470 470 7 296.00 $296.00 $1,391 +37.00
501–505 502 82 285.00–291.00 $286.10 $1,436 +34.10
559 559 8 266.00 $266.00 $1,487 —
600 600 12 262.00 $262.00 $1,572 +19.50
689 689 5 231.00 $231.00 $1,592 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
412 412 11 312.50 $312.50 $1,288 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310 310 7 320.00 $320.00 $992 —
382 382 15 305.00 $305.00 $1,165 —
418 418 61 313.00 $313.00 $1,308 +74.00
464 464 50 270.00 $270.00 $1,253 —
652 652 9 230.00 $230.00 $1,500 +8.00
875–876 875 28 219.00–223.00 $222.29 $1,945 -1.71
919 919 17 218.00 $218.00 $2,003 +1.50

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1220–1415 1293 80-85% 49 108.50–120.00 $111.12 $1,437 —
1270–1395 1340 80-85% 7 100.00–106.50 $104.41 $1,399 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
905–1195 1090 85-90% 38 106.00–117.50 $110.02 $1,199 —
1050–1187 1153 85-90% 7 99.00–104.00 $100.21 $1,155 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1381–1965 1559 75-80% 10 111.00–126.50 $116.65 $1,819 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1307–1790 1515 8 125.00–139.00 $133.27 $2,019 —
1595–1880 1780 12 139.00–150.00 $143.69 $2,558 —
2095–2390 2243 2 160.00–164.50 $162.10 $3,636 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
805–945 923 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 15 121.00–129.00 $122.39 $1,130
820–992 thin fleshed 967 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 7 101.00–102.50 $102.32 $989
900–1185 1006 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 5 109.00–113.00 $111.08 $1,117
1268–1485 1351 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 22 105.00–117.50 $113.43 $1,532

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Reading this report

What does "Medium and Large 1" mean?

USDA feeder grades describe frame size and muscle thickness, not quality of the individual animal. "Medium and Large" is the frame score; the number is muscle (1 = heaviest muscled). "Medium and Large 1–2" pens mix both muscle scores — common across the Southeast.

What is $/cwt?

Dollars per hundredweight — per 100 lb of animal. A 500-lb calf at $450/cwt brings 5 × $450 = $2,250. Lighter cattle usually bring more per cwt but less per head.

Why are some prices per head?

Bred cows, cow-calf pairs, and some replacement classes sell by the head, not by weight. We show those exactly as USDA reports them — a $/head figure is never converted into $/cwt on this site.

Where do these numbers come from?

From the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service's Livestock Market News — federal reporters at the sale. We publish each report in full and link the official USDA document at the top of the page.